Rachmaninov's 'Vespers' challenges Camerata Singers

Tenor Gregory Oaten will solo with the Camerata Singers at the First Presbyterian… (Contributed photo )

April 18, 2012|By Philip A. Metzger, Special to The Morning Call

Mention the name of composer Sergei Rachmaninov and most listeners immediately think of sweeping piano concertos, lushly romantic symphonies or the exquisite variations for piano and orchestra on a theme of Paganini.

But, as Saturday's Camerata Singers spring concert will illustrate, there's another side of the composer, one influenced by his upbringing in the Russian Orthodox Church. This influence will be manifest in their performance of his choral work "Vespers."

"Vespers" is in 15 sections of varying length, which also can be performed separately, something Camerata has done in the past, says Allan Birney, music director and conductor.

"Vespers presents some challenges for the choir," Birney says, adding that the most significant difficulty is the Russian style of liturgical singing. In addition, the work is a cappella, meaning without instrumental accompaniment, and so without an anchor for intonation.

Birney says that some of the elements of Russian singing include a wide range of pitches and quick changes of dynamics. "The singing is quite athletic," Birney says.

One difficulty has been sidestepped. "We're singing an English translation," Birney says.

Several of the sections call for a tenor solo, which will be sung by Camerata member Greg Oaten.

Birney says the choir has enjoyed the emotion and sonorities of this aspect of Rachmaninov's music. It has a "somber lusciousness."

There's a more familiar choral work being presented this weekend, Felix Mendelssohn's oratorio "Elijah." The work will be performed by the almost 70-member Moravian College Choir and soloists, and conducted by Paula Zirkle, professor of music at the college.

Soloists include bass-baritone Edward Bara, soprano Beverly Morgan and mezzo-soprano Patricia Budlong, all members of Moravian's vocal music faculty. Also soloing is tenor Jeffrey Bell, a fifth-year music major.

The orchestra is comprised of Moravian faculty members, hired professionials and four students.

The work also calls for a child soloist, a role filled by Abigail Hanlon, who is a member of Bel Canto Children's Chorus and daughter of Joy Hirokawa, professor of music education at the college.

The Lehigh University Philharmonic Orchestra presents "A Cultural Banquet" on Friday and Saturday, a colorful concert exploring the cultures of the Czech Republic, Argentina, Italy and America. In the absence of regular conductor Eugene Albulescu, who is on sabbatical, Lehigh music professor Paul Salerni takes the podium.

The program has three major elements: first, two of the six symphonic poems from Bedrich Smetana's "Ma Vlast" (My Country); second, the suite from Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera's one-act ballet "Estancia."

And third, there's a showcase of works by Lehigh composers. These include an aria from Salerni's award-winning one-act opera "Tony Caruso's Final Broadcast." In addition, the orchestra will perform two works by advanced student composers at the university: Andrey Stolyarov's quirky "Adamant" and Casey Rule's lyrical "Bright Star" with voice, to a poem by Keats.

Young opera soprano Jill Dewsnup will sing the Salerni aria as well as the vocal part of Rule's piece.

At least one of the tone poems by Smetana, "Vltava" (The Moldau), is thoroughly familiar to concert-goers for its rippling evocation of flowing water. The other, "Vysehrad," is perhaps less well-known. It depicts the historic events surrounding a castle built on the titular rock in the Moldau. It's full of folksiness as well as drama.

Ginastera's ballet portrays rural life in the composer's homeland. Its folksiness is of a different sort, and some of the movements contain driving, high intensity rhythms which would have astonished, and perhaps alarmed, Smetana.

On Sunday afternoon the Cathedral Church of the Nativity presents one of its regular organ concerts with a guest at the console, Matthew Glandorf. The concert is part of the church's Cathedral Classics series.

Glandorf is a native of Germany who began his organ studies there, and subsequently came to Philadelphia to study at the Curtis Institute. He later engaged in graduate studies at the Manhattan School of Music in New York.

Although pursuing an international concert career, he seems to have settled firmly into Philadelphia's musical life, serving as artistic director of the Choral Arts Society of Philadelphia and the Bach Festival of Philadelphia. He is also director of music at St. Mark's Church, and teaches at his alma mater, the Curtis Institute.

The Cathedral Classics brochure describes Glandorf's playing as "hair raisingly brilliant," but since Glandorf, as of this writing, has not made available the list of works he'll play, it's not possible to be more specific on this point.